Well I finally got time to listen to some old radio plays I have not heard in ages. I used to hear a lot of old radio plays because I loved them religiously. The 90s were pretty vague and not too great in my life. I guess being from a degenerate x kind of world you just don’t know what to do with your life besides draw and create stories. So what I would do besides all this is listen to tapes of old radio shows like the Green Hornet and the Shadow. I really enjoyed them growing up because you can use your imagination and most of the stories were much more creative than what they could dish out today. With the invasion of television, I guess the radio just died and many tuned into what they could see on TV. Don’t get me wrong. I learned many a lesson on tv, but I just could not use my imagination like I could when you hear a play on the radio. Many of kids my generation did not like listening to radio shows. Boring, not just the same as television, but I digress.

Before the 90s, then well, there is my love for Robert Arthur mysteries. The three investigators had me so much going in the 80s, 30 years ago to the day to be exact, and using my imagination while reading always was a highlight to my day as well. I loved those mysteries and each story had an impact to my mind. Each writer beyond the series had a great story to tell and I enjoyed the mystery and comedy each one played out. No wonder I had a great enjoyment for radio plays. Little did I realize that Robert Arthur was not telling a lie when he did indeed make a screaming masterpiece in the show The Mysterious Traveler. I enjoy this series as much as I did the shadow and green hornet due to the mystery it involved. They were very intriguing and lead you to think just as much as the next one. And I totally loved how they included a character. A character that would go from town to town to learn a different story every day.

The Mysterious Traveler was such a great radio program that it had its own digest series, and wow was I quite surprised to see the first issue go for 1000 on ebay! It soon even spawned a comic book series from the legendary Steve Ditko which included a more concrete character and definitely a greater image that I know Robert Arthur would be proud of. I really think that the series had a great impact to America to come up with a fan base and even shows that spawned from the series including HBOs Hitch Hiker from the 80s, I remembered watching as a child. Not really my cup of tea due to the graphic nature, but what do you expect from cable TV? Either way, the show had a serious impact to many but I know that the radio series left you to thinking.

I want to talk about 2 that had a great impact on my life listening to them again recently on a radio podcast. They just literally screamed Robert Arthur as you listen to them. One was called The House of Death and the other The Good die Young (Or how did Billy Joel say it best?) The first one was called the House of Death. A very intriguing story that involved 2 older ladies who lived with their niece and nephew. They had inherited money from their family and talking over how their friend ended up in the poorhouse. They wanted to take her in once they got settled but they seemed to have problems with their niece and nephew. Overhearing how nephew was putting the house up on the market, they were disturbed that they wanted to off them and get their inheritance. Then in a mysterious fate, both their cats had either died or disappeared from eating food which was meant for them. Apparently the first cat died of old age and the second just disappeared. Nothing was mentioned, but the two women were so scared of their family that they refused to eat. They wanted to get a message to the judge through a friend and he apparently died in a car accident. They had thought it was espionage so with that they wanted to get a message to the town. With their bit of efforts they decided to set the house on fire and trapping the niece and nephew in the cellar and ran out of the home leaving their nephew and niece to die in the fire.

The fire did signal the town and the judge showed up and told them the whole truth on how they were not going to make millions as they had thought through the family fortune to be inherited and the nephew and niece did not want to tell them the cold hard facts and tried to sell the house so they would have money to live on. The two old ladies had to go to the poor house because now they were without family and without money.

The second story was called The good die young, which was very clever as well. This one left me hanging the whole time I listened to it. It is one for the books and for most to ponder how they would signify the end. It was about a girl who’s father remarries. The young girl does not like the new mother because she had taken her father’s attention from her, so she gives her new mother a lot of hell and tries her best to get rid of her. Well throughout the story the wife was trying to convince her husband that the daughter did not like her, but the daughter had played her father so well through spoiled acts. Toward the climax of the story, the daughter wanted to walk with her father, and when he called to his wife to get his coat, she did so but fell on the steps due to marbles on the staircase.

They call the doctor for her and he prescribes her medicine and tells her to take it in order to get well, but he does offer her to use it for daughter if she ever got upset over anything as well. Well one day the daughter tried to get the medicine for her mother, but come to find out it’s poison that was in the medicine chest, looking like the medicine prescribed. The mother tells her so and so they get the right medicine. That night the daughter is having nightmares and the mother offers the father to use her medicine because it was okay to use. The daughter forcefully refused but the mother fought to get her to take the medicine. With vain, she did and the daughter died. they had no clue why or how but the doctor came and told them it was the right bottle, but it was poison which was in it. The father soon looks at the wife thinking she had poisoned his daughter and that is how it ends.

That one really had me thinking because you really don’t know who did it. Was it the wife because she forced it on her, or was it was the daughter because she knew.. or did she know it was poison? Who was the criminal?

Boy, and I thought the Mystery of the Screaming Clock had me on edge? Now you know why my favorite writer is Robert Arthur. He was very incredible the way he would write a mystery. He would point out the ironies and show what would happen if you mock them. He is the reason why I find Ron Serling so fascinating. Another great writer that just has the same impact as Arthur among many others who wrote for TV and Radio. They made clever stories where people would learn a lesson or learn something from it. I find the writings very incredible and thought provoking. If you are not a fan, or just don’t know who the heck he was, I think you should check him out. He wrote for many tv series including Alfred Hitchcock presents, and Boris Karlof’s Thriller.

Now the Three Investigators is very popular in Germany. The series is called Die Drei ???, instead of the Three investigators which he created after he left television. His baby, the series he created that turned me onto this writer in so many ways as he did for many others. The Three Investigators over there became much more popular oddly enough from their CDs. Radio plays! The kids idolize it there due to the series on tape due to the nature of the way they act on the tapes. Like an old radio play. I find it odd, and in irony that his series is greatly popular over there and all due to radio plays! It’s like in full circle. That he created a great show for radio and now his series are entertaining children over there the same way. Sad it had to die off here in the states but it is great that he has lived through what he loved to do. Radio.

If you want to listen to the series, highly recommended! I do not endorse this page:

I hope that I had just as much fun as you did making it. OH WAIT, I made it. But I am sure you will have fun watching the rest of the process. It’s much easier, or at least less than all that sanding and getting it back in the shape I need to have before I start painting her. Before I start into my prelims, let me do a bit of refresher on what I did in the previous episode…

That’s pretty much it. If you did not read or take a look at it yet, then head over to the link and have fun with it. I think that it’s not only the best part of my making statues, but it’s the most creative process in the same. Working with clay you get the freedom to create and diverse in your artwork. To create something that you and someone else will like. The long tedious part is the sanding, but you want to get all the lumps and bumps out to make your piece special and unique.

Now onto the final steps

Part 4- darn it I had to look up what part I was on.. 🙂

Once I have her all sanded out, I decided on a statue. As in the earlier link or blog I had posted, I created an image that I wanted to work from but never really thought of a base, so I just casually decided on a round circle. I never had any ideas or plans on what to make of it, but it’s something to hold her up. I thought about what to do later and will get that in the final steps. Hence it is white and plain. I tried to keep it simple and unique. I did not use a cookie cutter because not only did I not have one, but with it being a last min decision, I thought it looked nice being ragged and unique.

Anyway, as I worked I used basic craft paints I find at walmart, michaels, joannes, whatever had a sale. I used satin craft paints to give it the thickness of colors used, but even the cheapest of paints worked well. The cheapest I had to put on several coats, but that made it more formal and better cover. Painting was very careful, esp on the finer details such as the eyes and skirt. It became a challenge to keep up with my sketch, what I seen in images, and so on. I did mess up here and there, but with basic acrylic paints it became an easy fix. The only problem I have is my steady hand. I do not have one, and even though I sanded her pretty well, the painting made up for it. 😛

Part 5

All done, with heavy concern and careful painting I had finally got done with what I wanted. All things came together when I made the piece as a whole. I looked at the round stand and thought.. “Hey! That would make a great manhole cover!” I was going to use the logo, but it was rather small with her feet so I decided to just condense TMNT to TMT.. that way it kinna looked like NYC.. as most of their manhole covers looked in the series. Then I painted her name. The final piece really looked good.

I also had to repaint her glasses as I glued it to her head. it was so fragile that I had to fix and repaint. I use a great glue that’s a gel from Elmers. I won’t use any other kind.

Part 6

And then I used it to glue her to the base. It all worked well together!

FINALLY..

The end or the beginning? you decide! I am making more statues as we speak, and she is up for sale. I had someone ask me.. “why are you selling your work? You should keep it!” I love my work.. but I want to share it more. It’s what we artists want.. to share and to get our work out there and to make a bit of money on the side so we can do this for our lives. I love to share my artwork, get it out there and do what I LOVE TO DO!! It’s a start and I hope that I can generate an audience who would not only love to purchase my work, but to share it as well. I love art. I do all kinds! If it’s a media, I am willing to learn it and to make people happy. I am with this and I Hope I made you just as happy by reading it!

IF interested.. bid. If not, please spread the word around for those you know who would love to have her. she is limited and as you see here, very original. Nothing duplicated nor a mold. She is great for your collection and it will help me gear into making more!

One often asks me, how do I make my statues and why not make molds? Well, I have considered molds, but well.. when I create a statue, I make it a one of a kind piece, putting a lot of dedication into it even if I do it over and over again. That way, whoever buys or offers a statue from me will get a one of a kind that no one else will have.

It really does not take too long to make a statue. I range from at least one to two months depending on how hectic my outside life can be. Considering my life and the job I keep as well as my family (thank God I do not have kids because I just would not the mother I would like to be due to all my hard time on myself), I just try my best to find the best time I can give myself and my work. I enjoy making statues so I will not press the issue on how hard it is or how much it takes out of me. If anything, it relaxes me on everything out there that I do not really like.

Step 1.

Let’s get to the heart of the matter. How do I create a statue, part one. I put this in parts because I am still working on this piece I hope to sell on Ebay soon. First off I look up ref photos and try to get what I want accomplished by not copying or taking too much from the photo due to copyrights. I know that I am pretty much breaking down the barrier by taking the photos and looking at it, but I still want to say.. hey, this is my piece. My art. So I look for the refs, but I still accomplish my art style into the work I create. So within the steps I draw and try to come up with what I want and how I want the statue to look. So I create my own drawing and wa.. lah, I am onto the wireframe.

NO! The whole statue is not made of clay. It would be too much on my product, too heavy, and way too much in the matter. Besides with the bone structure, I can get what I want in balance and completeness. So with aluminum wire and foils I come up with something thesibile to my sketch. Thesibile? is that a word? OH Well..

Step 2. Clay time

Okay, now that that is out of the way, I am now ready to put in the clay. I prefer to work with Sculpey clay because it is fun and flexible. If I have to have a back up it would be stradler, but they do not really make too much clay to work from that I find fun, unless I do my ball joint dolls. But that is for a later journal. I love this clay. It’s plastic all and all.. I have a bad habit of chewing my nails so I love this clay. It helps keep my fingers out of my mouth. Anyway, I love the shape and form of polymer clay. I can bend and flex it to what I would like to have and want. Originally I used basic tools to make my statues and they became too bulky and not so much fleshed out, but then I found nice tools that I will post later, from Hobby Lobby and I tell you, they are a God send! They help me focus on my details and not ruin so much of my statue. The only thing I have been doing wrong or making it hard as I create statues is that I do not use an armature stand. I do have one, but I just do not want to waste my bits on my mini statues. I will in the future, but it is not hard for me to lay my stand ups and when I bake them.. yeah, they flatten a bit, but it won’t take much out when I sand them.

I will post all I am talking about in future posts, ie tools and flat clay. 🙂

Part 3. FINISHED?

Okay, so I am not finished, but I am getting there. I am finished for this piece in sculpting. I have finally baked it in my basic oven. WOW. I remember the day when you had to have a kiln and you had to bake them there. What a world now that we can do this! Probably why I did not pursue sculpture. I just did not think I could do it without the right tools, but now you can find the clay at Walmart and tools at Hobby Lobby, Why not? Anyone can do this! Again, this process only takes me a few days. It is not too hard putting a frame together and to slap clay. That was the easiest of all, believe it or not. At least for me it is. I am such a perfectionist that I have to make sure everything is in the right place. Eyes, nose, smoothing, arms.. So I now get done and bake in the oven.

Then comes the hard part. The sanding! This is what takes me the longest. I try to get the kinks out in the clay but it’s not always easy so when I get to the sanding, I am with my dremel 7200 sander. I have the cheaper one because you do not need a heavy duty sander heavy in your hands while you are trying to clean up the details. It is a very nice tool and glad I invested in it. Sure, I use sand paper as well, but the dremel makes it more easier to get into the cracks and get every bit cleaned and right.. ready to paint!

That’s it for part 1 of my sculpting! I hope you enjoy and never give up your dream. More later!!

There are a bit of details I want to put in, but overall it’s finished. I am working on fan art of the three investigators and the secret of terror castle seeing how it’s their 50th anniversary. I am reading all kinds of reviews and inserts from my fellow bloggers and other friends and I will interject my review when I get a chance to reread it. Right now I am trying to work on a mini dialogue, moving comic of the crimebusters series that dated back in 89. I reread that and was a bit dismayed on how it all overtook the characters and how some were changed, but as a fan I will always love the series, no matter what direction they took over the years. I feel that I grew up humbly on the series. Hell, I was 17 back in 89 and just latched onto the series at 12 back in 84. 30 years have passed for me and I really enjoyed how they placed me in a world of mystery and fun. Unlike the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew, it was filled with action and humor that I could not describe. Now with Germany at the helm and Kosmos, I greatly appreciate the trill and how they are still entertaining young children today.

I remember my dream was to see a movie of the three and thanks to the love of the German fanbase, we were able to achieve that. It was not so much a bad movie in my opinion. They did it well and I was very happy to get my chance and dream come true. So I hope that even as 50 years have come and gone, it will continue forever. Throughout the world, throughout here. I am happy.